Higher Education Notes

MINNEAPOLIS Ally Carnes, originally from Cape Cod, Mass., understands the weight of yesterday"s events more so than many other travelers. Carnes was originally scheduled to be on the flight from Boston to Los Angeles believed to be the one that crashed into the World Trade Center in New York.

"I wanted to get out earlier and be in L.A. earlier so I switched to a flight an hour earlier," she said. "My entire family thought I was dead."

In an unprecedented event, all air travel in North America has been halted in an event dubbed "Operation Ground Stop." Travelers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport were stranded as all flights coming and going were grounded.

As many as 10 planes were diverted to Minneapolis-St.Paul International after the Federal Aviation Administration issued the grounding.

Pay phones at the airport had lines close to 30 minutes long, Carnes said. Ticket lines were also extremely long as airline personnel attempted to accommodate people grounded in the Twin Cities.

Penn State student caught near World Trade Center blast

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Penn State student John Raynar huddled over a neighbor"s computer wearing a protective mask in the shadow of the devastated World Trade Center yesterday.

The senior telecommunications major painted the chaotic scene for a reporter the only way he could via AOL Instant Messenger.

"This morning, I was laying in bed just waking up when I heard what sounded like a very low flying military plane," Raynar typed. "Then I heard a huge explosion. I looked out my window and saw scores of people running in away from the explosion. I then looked up and saw it was in flames."

Raynar woke up just one and a half blocks from the Trade Center in an apartment building on John Street. He"s in New York City on a pair of internships with MTV and the Howard Stern Show.

About half an hour after the second plane exploded into the Trade Center, he decided to jump in the shower to prepare to escape north, away from the tip of Manhattan.

But he didn"t get the chance to leave. "That"s when they collapsed. It was like Ghostbusters. The entire sky turned pitch black," Raynar said. "Unfortunately, my windows were left open."

Dust and debris from the collapse piled up about three inches thick around Raynar"s apartment, and came in through the open windows, he said.

Oklahoma State students react to bombing tragedy

STILLWATER, Okla. State and local officials and Oklahoma State University students responded locally amid the nationwide chaos yesterday.

Students filled empty chairs throughout campus, watching television news reports in stunned silence as symbols of America smoldered and gruesome pictures of the thousands of dead and injured unfolded on screen.

"This is the terrorist equivalent of Pearl Harbor," said L.G. Moses, professor of history at Oklahoma State.

"The implications of this attack are much greater the (Oklahoma City bombing). This is not an act of domestic terrorism," he said.

Gov. Frank Keating ordered all state office buildings closed following the events in New York City and Washington and asked Oklahomans to "pray for the nation."

"This is a day of agony and infamy in America," Keating said. "Oklahomans obviously know well the impact of terrorism we will be vigilant."

International U. Utah students fear backlash

University of Utah administrators are acting with caution when it comes to providing crisis counseling to international students, following the terrorist attacks against major landmarks in New York City and Washington.

The university does not want to point fingers at any racial, ethnic or national group, and therefore has remained vague.

"If any international students have any special issues to deal with, we are available to assist them," said Bill Barnhart, director of the International Center.

This is exactly what Fauzi Syammach wants to hear. The former president of the Muslim Student Association reminds everyone of the Oklahoma City bombing.

For two days, news accounts and government officials suggested that Muslim extremists blew up the federal building. It turned out to be domestic terrorism.